OROVILLE -- Testimony began Thursday in the trial of a Chico man charged for the alleged sniper-style shooting of a driver returning to work early on the morning of Sept. 21, 2011.

During opening statements in Butte County Superior Court, supervising deputy district attorney Mark Murphy laid out the prosecution's case against defendant Jeffrey James Menzies, 29.

He alleged the defendant hid on a raised grassy area southwest of the intersection of Highway 32 and Bruce Road in Chico and used a high-powered hunting rifle to shoot David Yang, then 26. Yang had been waiting to turn left from eastbound 32 to northbound Bruce.

"This case is ultimately about a man who decided to hunt a human being," Murphy said.

Menzies is charged with murder and also faces the special circumstances that he was lying in wait and used a rifle causing death.

If convicted of the charge and special circumstances, Menzies may be sentenced to life in state prison without the possibility of parole.

The prosecutor said key parts of the case were arranged phone calls between Menzies and Daniel Slack recorded by police the evening of the shooting. The police arranged the calls in part because of concerns regarding Slack and the fact he wasn't immediately forthright about information regarding Menzies.

According to Murphy, Menzies acknowledged in the calls that the police suspected his involvement and said he didn't know why he shot someone. The defendant also reportedly said he didn't get the rifle out of there and suggested that Slack could retrieve it and put it in "deep water."

In his opening, defense attorney Jodea Foster said the case was the tragedy of two men — Menzies and Slack — who allegedly tried to pull off a robbery at the intersection. Foster said Menzies had gone to the intersection to look at a supernova after leaving the Empire Club in Durham at closing.

Slack allegedly joined Menzies there and they decided to rob someone at the intersection. They ran out to the vehicle, but something went wrong and the shot was fired at a location much closer to the car.

Foster said character witnesses will testify that "Jeffrey Menzies is not the type of person who would sit up on a hill and intentionally shoot someone."

After opening statements, the prosecution presented nine witnesses before adjourning for the day.

Most of the witnesses testified about physical evidence recovered from the scene of the shooting, although Yang's wife of three years, Sarah Her, testified Yang did not know Menzies.

She also said Yang would return to their Forest Avenue apartment every night to spend his meal break with her before returning to work via Highway 32 and Bruce Road.

Chico police detective Abigail Madden testified about the scene of the crime. She presented several photos showing Yang's vehicle, the raised corner and the whole intersection. Yang's vehicle had stopped after it barely entered the intersection, with the engine still running and the left turn signal on.

On the ground in the turn lane, there was some glass from the shattered front passenger side window. The driver's side window was open and both sides agree the round exited the vehicle through there.

Chico police officer Peter Durfee said he searched the defendant's Chrysler Sebring, which was located near the intersection. In the trunk, he found a rifle case empty, except for a box of .270-caliber ammunition. A .22-caliber rifle and scope were also present.

Chico police detective Andrei Carlisle testified he found a .270-caliber rifle on Sept. 28, 2011, under a tree branch in Dead Horse Slough where it runs northwest of the shooting.

Menzies had allegedly told Slack where the weapon was hidden. The waterway is also in the direction of the defendant's residence on Alpine Street.

A resident on Dorado Cerro testified he learned late on the date of the shooting that a gate on his property was opened from the inside onto the street. He said it was unusual for the gate to be open, which was for landscapers.

His property abuts Dead Horse Slough.

State game warden Jacob Olsen testified while he and his K-9 were searching along a fence between the slough and the shooting location on Sept. 30, 2011, when he spotted a bright object that turned out to be a .270-caliber shell casing.

District attorney's Lt. Bruce Wristen test-fired the recovered rifle at a distance of about 70 feet — the distance from where Menzies was allegedly waiting and Yang's stopped vehicle.

Wristen said the weapon fired properly and accurately. He said it wouldn't be a challenge for a trained shooter to make that shot at 70 feet, especially with a scope.

Under cross-examination by Foster, Wristen acknowledged there may be factors that could affect accuracy, including lighting, wind and the shooter's level of intoxication.

However, Wristen said the streetlights at the intersection were sufficient to sight the victim's head while in a vehicle.